About

Sound Farm Studio Recording Environment is a 6,000 square-foot recording environment that houses a full-service, professional recording studio and comfortable living quarters located in rural Jamaica, Iowa. Established in 2006, Sound Farm was constructed and purposefully located in a secluded environment to minimize distractions and provide musicians with all of the comforts of home while recording in a cutting edge, high-quality environment. Offering superior digital and analog recording platforms, Sound Farm has been the studio of choice for bands from around the world, including Grammy Award-winning Slipknot, Outrage (Japan), Mindless Self Indulgence, The Envy Corps, and Puscifer.

Tucked into a quiet farm in rural Iowa, the remote site allows musicians to completely absorb themselves in their projects while relaxing and enjoying the surroundings to provide a playground of endless sonic possibilities. Guests are welcome to take residence in the beautiful living quarters connected to the studio while in session. The attached residence consists of four bedrooms (sleeps 11), two full baths, full kitchen, dining area, and a cozy living room, which features a 42” wood burning fire place, 54” plasma TV, and two story windows overlooking a scenic walking path and creek.

Built from the ground up, Sound Farm was acoustically designed for music to be recorded at its highest quality. The space was constructed using environmentally friendly building practices, utilizing geothermal heating and cooling, along with prefabricated studded elements to cut down on waste material. The studio boasts a 35 ft x 33 ft live room with 16-ft ceilings, two Iso rooms, and a fully integrated digital and analogue studio (SSL 4040e/g series console, ProTools HD3, 24 in/40 out Apogee conversion, and 24-track Studer A827 2 inch tape machine). Sound Farm commissioned electronics professionals Brandon McHale Designs and Coleman Rodgers Audio Electronics to build a custom, first-of-its-kind, switching box to sit between ProTools and the Studer analog deck, allowing clients to utilize either recording medium at a flick of a switch, or use both at the same time.

Sound Farm has worked with a variety of notable artists. Grammy Award winners, Slipknot recorded their Billboard #1 album All Hope Is Gone and shot the music video for “Psychosocial” at Sound Farm. Japanese metal veterans Outrage traveled to Jamaica to record “Fight Fire with Fire” for METAL-IKKA, a Japanese Metallica tribute album. Johnny Reefer Seed and Afroman won the Global Marijuana Music Award for Best Funk Song of 2008 with their Sound Farm-recorded track, “Light ‘Em Up.” Other notable clientele include Dirty Little Rabbits, The Envy Corps, Murderdolls, and Radio Moscow. From an Iowa artist recording their first album to seasoned veterans from across the world, Sound Farm welcomes all types of musicians. A variety of musical genres have been recorded at Sound Farm, including jazz, pop, alternative, rock, country, singer/songwriters, church groups, and choirs.

Just a short drive from Ames and Des Moines, many bands have called the studio home while recording an album, shooting music videos, or using the facility’s rural background for photography or artwork. Sound Farm offers a truly private getaway to capture your creativity in an environment free of distraction.

“It’s hard to imagine Slipknot’s unique brand of aggressive, apocalyptic metal being spawned in such an idyllic environment, but it’s an appropriate anomaly for a band that never really conformed to normal expectations from the beginning.” -Guitar World